Our winter issue is full of family lore--the stories we grow up hearing and the tales we, in turn, tell. Like the night we hit the deer, or Dad's close encounter with a serial killer, or the time Grandma saved the village from the Germans ... Every family has at least one story like this--but is it true? (And, if it's a good enough story, does it matter whether it's true?)

Plus, we explore the special challenges of writing about family; writers travel in search of missing stories; and Rick Bragg reflects on the process of interviewing living legend Jerry Lee Lewis.